Underwater vehicle

ABSTRACT

An underwater vehicle is provided with facility for affixing to and maintaining station on a hull of another marine vehicle. The underwater vehicle includes a hull with a propulsion means for movement underwater. Maneuvering planes are mounted on the hull. Body panels are movably fixed to the hull and are moveable from first positions in which the panels conform to a shape of the hull to second positions in which the panels extend outwardly from the hull and toward the other marine vehicle, free edges of the panels being engageable with the other marine vehicle to deter flow of water between the underwater vehicle hull and the other marine vehicle and guide flow of water around the underwater vehicle hull to pin the underwater vehicle against the other marine vehicle hull.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for Governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER PATENT APPLICATIONS

None.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to underwater vehicles which can beunmanned and untethered and more particularly to an underwater vehiclehaving facility for affixing to and maintaining station on an underwaterhull portion of another marine vehicle.

(2) Description of the Prior Art

Underwater vehicles are known and are used for a variety of missions,including anti-mine operations, oceanographic analysis, reconnaissance,intelligence gathering, and tracking of marine vehicles. These vehiclescan be either manned or more commonly unmanned. Retrieval of underwatervehicles which have completed their missions has heretofore involved asubmarine or other naval vessel maneuvering alongside the underwatervehicle and mechanically grabbing the underwater vehicle. Maneuvering asubmarine is much more difficult than maneuvering an underwater vehicle.In addition, the underwater vehicle is sometimes in high sea states ornear dangerous coastal obstacles. Maintaining stealth is more difficultwith a large submarine than with an underwater vehicle. Accordingly,there is a need for an underwater vehicle which can maneuver to engage aretrieving vehicle, whether submarine or surface vessel, and cling tothe hull of the retrieving vehicle until the retrieving vehicle reachesa safe location for removal of the underwater vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is, therefore, to provide an underwatervehicle having facility for maneuvering alongside a retrieving vehicle,engaging the hull of the retrieving vehicle, and clinging to the hull ofthe retrieving vehicle until removal therefrom.

With the above and other objects in view, a feature of the presentinvention is the provision of an underwater vehicle having facility foraffixing to and maintaining station on a hull of another marine vehicle.The underwater vehicle comprises a self-powered hull for movementunderwater, and maneuvering planes mounted on the hull for effectingchanges in course when the underwater vehicle is underway. Body panelsare movably fixed to the hull and moveable from first positions in whichthe panels conform to the hull shape to second positions in which thepanels extend outwardly from the hull and toward an engagement region ofthe other marine vehicle. Free edges of the panels are engageable withthe hull of the other marine vehicle to deter flow of water between theunderwater vehicle hull and the hull of the other marine vehicle andguide flow of water around the underwater vehicle hull to pin theunderwater vehicle against the other marine vehicle hull.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, there is providedan underwater vehicle having facility for affixing to and maintainingstation on a hull of another marine vehicle. The underwater vehiclecomprises a self-powered hull for movement underwater and maneuveringplanes mounted on the hull for effecting changes in course when theunderwater vehicle is underway. Arms are pivotally mounted on theunderwater vehicle hull such that in a non-extended condition the armsare disposed within an outboard surface of the underwater vehicle hull.The arms are extendible from the underwater vehicle hull upon theunderwater vehicle hull engaging the hull of the other marine vehicle.The arms engage the hull of the other marine vehicle and generallyconform to an outside configuration of the hull of the other marinevehicle. Attachment devices are fixed to the arms to engage the hull ofthe other marine vehicle and hold the underwater vehicle on the hull ofthe other marine vehicle.

In accordance with a still further feature of the invention, there isprovided an underwater vehicle having facility for affixing to andmaintaining station on a hull of another marine vehicle. The underwatervehicle comprises a self-powered hull for movement underwater andmaneuvering planes mounted on the hull for effecting changes in coursewhen the underwater vehicle is underway. An engagement side of theunderwater vehicle hull is of a concave configuration, an engagementportion of the hull of the other marine vehicle is of a convexconfiguration, and the remainder of the underwater vehicle hull is of aconvex configuration. Water flowing over the remainder of the underwatervehicle hull pins the engagement side of the underwater vehicle hullagainst the engagement portion of the hull of the other marine vehicle.

The above and other features of the invention, including various noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts, will now be moreparticularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings andpointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particulardevices embodying the invention are shown by way of illustration onlyand not as limitations of the invention. The principles and features ofthis invention may be employed in various and numerous embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which are shownillustrative embodiments of the invention, from which its novel featuresand advantages will be apparent, wherein corresponding referencecharacters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views ofthe drawings and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of one form of a Underwater Vehicleillustrative of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1 but showing maneuvering planes deployed forurging the underwater vehicle toward a hull of another marine vehicle,the underwater vehicle engaged with the other marine vehicle hull, andpanels deployed from the underwater vehicle and engaged with the othermarine vehicle hull;

FIG. 3 is a front, or bow view of the underwater vehicle with theforward panel deployed;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the underwater vehicle opposite the engagementside, with the forward panel deployed;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the underwater vehicle taken along lineV-V of FIG. 2, with side panels deployed and engaged with the othermarine vehicle hull;

FIG. 6 is a top view showing the forward and side panels deployed;

FIG. 7 is a front or bow view showing the forward and side panelsdeployed;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of an underwater vehicle andillustrative of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 8, showing analternative grasping feature for engaging the hull of the other marinevehicle;

FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 9 but showing the grasping feature deployedto engage the hull of the other marine vehicle;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are similar to FIG. 10, but illustrative of anadditional grasping feature;

FIG. 13 is similar to FIG. 8, but showing a plurality of grasping units;

FIG. 14 is similar to FIG. 13, but shows the grasping units deployed forengagement with the hull of the other marine vehicle;

FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate a further alternative embodiment of graspingunits;

FIG. 17 is a front or bow view of an underwater vehicle havingalternative means for engagement with the hull of the other marinevehicle; and

FIG. 18 is a side elevational view of the underwater vehicle of FIG. 17.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, it will be seen that an illustrative underwatervehicle 20 comprises an elongated hull 22 having maneuvering planes 24mounted thereon, typically on opposite sides of the hull (one side seenin FIG. 1) and moveable to effect course changes of the vehicle 20. Themaneuvering planes 24 typically include bow planes 24 a and stern planes24 b. The underwater vehicle is self-propelled and contains a guidancesystem responsive to preprogramming and electronic instructions receivedfrom a controlling station.

After completion of a mission by the underwater vehicle, the underwatervehicle may be guided into position alongside a retrieving vessel 26.See FIG. 2. The bow and stern planes 24 a and 24 b are moved by thecontrol system (not shown) to bring the hull 22 of the underwatervehicle 20 into engagement with an underwater hull portion 28 of theretrieving vessel 26.

Upon engagement of the underwater vehicle 20 with the retrieving vessel26, the underwater vehicle deploys a forward panel 30 (FIGS. 2, 3 and41, a free edge 32 of which engages the hull 28. The panel 30 is curved(FIG. 2) in such a manner as to direct the flow of water along the sideof the hull 28 around the underwater vehicle hull 22 rather than betweenthe underwater vehicle hull 22 and the retrieving vessel hull 28. Suchflow tends to pin the underwater vehicle 20 against the hull 28 of thevessel 26.

To further assist in pinning the underwater vehicle 20 to the vessel 26,the underwater vehicle is provided with side panels 34 (FIGS. 2, 5-7)which extend from the underwater vehicle and have free edges 36 whichengage the hull 28. The side panels 34 further direct water flow aroundthe underwater vehicle 20 and substantially block flow between theunderwater vehicle and the retrieving vessel. The panels 30, 34 conformto the shape of the underwater vehicle hull 22 when not extended, asshown in FIG. 1. The free edges 32, 36 of the panels generally conformto the shape of the retrieving vessel hull 28 when the panels areextended. Panels 30, 34 can be extended by electrical, mechanical,pneumatic or hydraulic actuators means known in the art.

Referring to FIGS. 8-10, it will be seen that in an alternativeembodiment the underwater vehicle 20 is provided with a pair of annularrecesses 40 a, 40 b, in which are disposed, respectively, linkage arms42 a and 42 b. The linkage arms 42 a, 42 b are spring biased, such thatupon release from their recesses 40 a, 40 b, which occurs uponengagement of the underwater vehicle hull 22 with the retrieving vesselhull 28, the arms spring outwardly in the direction of arrows 44 a, 44 bin FIG. 9 to engage the hull 28, as shown in FIG. 10. The linkages 52 ofthe arms 42 a, 42 b permit the arms to conform to the configuration ofthe hull 28.

To enable the underwater vehicle 20 to remain fastened to the retrievingvehicle hull 28, the linkage arms 42 a, 42 b are provided withattachment devices 46 a, 46 b, which may comprise magnetic devices 48(FIG. 11), spikes 50 (FIG. 12), or the like. The magnetic devices 48anchor securely to steel structures, such as submarine hulls. Magneticdevices 48 can be electromagnets. The spikes 50 are useful with respectto soft submarine coverings. An attachment region having improvedattachment characteristics can be provided on the retrieving vehicle.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, a plurality of pairs of arms 42 a, 42 b,may be used to insure that a proper grasping feature is engageable witha hull 28 whose structure is unknown.

In FIGS. 15 and 16 an alternative arrangement of arms 42 a and 42 b isshown in which the arms move oppositely from directions shown in FIGS. 9and 10, but accomplish the same tasks in much the same manner.

It will be apparent that the features of FIGS. 1-7 may be combined withthe features of FIGS. 8-14, it being necessary to provide a plurality ofside panels 34 on each side panel side of the underwater vehicle hull22, rather than the one long panel 34 shown in FIG. 2, to accommodatethe recesses 40 a, 40 b for the linkage arms 42 a, 42 b.

Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, it will be seen that in a still furtherembodiment of the invention, an engagement side 60 of the underwatervehicle hull 22 is of a concave configuration and an engagement portion62 of the hull 28 of the retrieving vehicle 26 is of a convexconfiguration. The remainder of the underwater vehicle hull is of aconvex configuration. Further, the nose or bow portion 64 (FIG. 18) ofthe underwater vehicle is angled asymmetrically so as to direct a waterstream over the remainder of the underwater vehicle hull 22. Thus, waterflowing over the remainder of the hull pins the engagement side 60 ofthe underwater vehicle 20 against the engagement portion 62 of the hull28 of the retrieving vehicle 26.

There is thus provided an underwater vehicle having facility formaneuvering alongside a retrieving vehicle, as by manipulation of bowand stern planes, for engaging a hull surface of the retrieving vehicle,and for pinning the underwater vehicle to the retrieving vehicle hull.

Subsequently, the underwater vehicle can be removed from the hull of theretrieving vehicle. Alternatively, the underwater vehicle may be used asa guided mine which attaches to the hull of an enemy ship and detonatesto open a large hole in the hull of the host ship. It will be understoodthat many additional changes in the details, materials, steps andarrangement of parts, which have been herein described and illustratedin order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by thoseskilled in the art within the principles and scope of the invention asexpressed in the appended claims.

1. An underwater vehicle having facility for maintaining station on another marine vehicle hull, the underwater vehicle comprising: aself-propelled underwater vehicle hull configured movement underwater;maneuvering planes mounted on said underwater vehicle hull; and bodypanels movably fixed to said underwater vehicle hull and moveable fromfirst positions in which said panels conform to a shape of saidunderwater vehicle hull, to second positions in which said panels extendoutwardly from said underwater vehicle hull, free edges of said panelsbeing engageable with the other marine vehicle hull to deter flow ofwater between said underwater vehicle hull and the other marine vehiclehull and guide the flow of water around the underwater vehicle hull topin the underwater vehicle against the other marine vehicle hull;wherein said body panels include a bow panel and side panels, said bowpanel being extendible forwardly from said underwater vehicle hull andsaid side panels being extendible from opposite sides of said underwatervehicle hull.
 2. The underwater vehicle in accordance with claim 1wherein said maneuvering planes include stern planes.
 3. The underwatervehicle in accordance with claim 2 wherein said maneuvering planesfurther include bow planes.
 4. An underwater vehicle having facility formaintaining station on an other marine vehicle hull, the underwatervehicle comprising: a self-propelled underwater vehicle hull configuredmovement underwater; maneuvering planes mounted on said underwatervehicle hull; arms pivotally mounted on said underwater vehicle hullsuch that in a nonextended condition said arms are disposed within anoutboard surface of said underwater vehicle hull, said arms beingextendible from said underwater vehicle hull, said arm when extendedbeing capable of engaging the other marine vehicle hull to generallyconform to an outside configuration of the other marine vehicle hull;and attachment devices fixed to said arms to engage the other marinevehicle hull and hold said underwater vehicle onto the other marinevehicle hull; wherein each of said arms comprises a series of linkagesfixed pivotally to each other end-to-end; and wherein said underwatervehicle hull is provided with annular recesses therein and each of saidarms is adapted to be disposed in one of said recesses in thenon-extended condition.
 5. The underwater vehicle in accordance withclaim 4 wherein said maneuvering planes include stern planes.
 6. Theunderwater vehicle in accordance with claim 5 wherein said maneuveringplanes further include bow planes.
 7. The underwater vehicle inaccordance with claim 4 wherein said body panels include a bow panelextendible forwardly from said underwater vehicle hull.
 8. Theunderwater vehicle in accordance with claim 7 wherein said body panelsinclude side panels extendible from opposite sides of said underwatervehicle hull.
 9. The underwater vehicle in accordance with claim 4wherein said attachment devices comprise spikes.
 10. The underwatervehicle in accordance with claim 4 wherein said arms comprise at leastone set of arms, each set of arms comprising two arms extendibleoppositely to each other to engage the other marine vehicle hull onopposite sides of the underwater vehicle.
 11. An underwater vehiclehaving facility for maintaining station on an other marine vehicle hull,the underwater vehicle comprising: a self-propelled underwater vehiclehull configured for movement underwater; maneuvering planes mounted onsaid underwater vehicle hull; arms pivotally mounted on said underwatervehicle hull such that in a nonextended condition said arms are disposedwithin an outboard surface of said underwater vehicle hull, said armsbeing extendible from said underwater vehicle hull, said arm whenextended being capable of engaging the other marine vehicle hull togenerally conform to an outside configuration of the other marinevehicle hull wherein each of said arms comprises a series of linkagesfixed pivotally to each other end-to-end; and attachment devices fixedto said arms to engage the other marine vehicle hull and hold saidunderwater vehicle onto the other marine vehicle hull; wherein saidattachment devices comprise magnets.
 12. The underwater vehicle inaccordance with claim 11 wherein said magnets comprise electromagnets.